“She’s full of shit, Miles. Just ignore her. I don’t believe she can predict our future any more than I can figure skate.”
Miles’s eyes narrow. “I hope you’re terrible at figure skating.”
“The worst.” I grin, widening it as I wait for him to catch on.
Eventually, it does, and as a smile spreads across his face, I feel like I’ve accomplished something. I’m not sure what, but it’ssomething.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, where to next?” I ask.
“The One True Love,” he replies. “The best pub in Valentine Nook, but don’t tell Chris at The Cupid’s Arrow.”
I zip my lips and tuck the key into my pocket. “Lead the way.”
The place is dark when we push through the doors, but once our eyes adjust to the light, I see how beautiful it is. Full ofcharacter and charm, with sticky floors and shiny beer taps. It reminds me of the old bars back home, where customers have etched carvings into the walls, and the scent of stale beer and cigarettes will always linger in the air, no matter how much it’s scrubbed.
Behind the bar is a man who looks as old as the place, with thick bushy eyebrows and a mustache I want to run a comb through. He doesn’t even look up from where he’s restocking the bar with fresh bottles of whiskey.
“We’re not open yet. Come back later.”
“I don’t think so, old man.”
The man spins around and stares hard. It’s the same thing Claudia did in the bakery, and I realize it’s because people can’t tell the difference between them, but on second thought, he knows exactly who it is. He’s simply annoyed.
“Miles, when did you get back?”
“The other day?—”
“Took you long enough to come and say hello,” he grumbles, and goes back to switching out full bottles for empty ones.
“I know, Eddie. I’m sorry.”
“Where have you been gallivanting around this time?”
“Argentina and America.”
Eddie huffs and puts down his bottle only to stare at me. “And I s’pose this is your new wife.”
Miles’s eyes slice to mine, and his eyebrow raises in an “I told you so” manner. Miles was right about the alert to the village. Claudia sure works fast. “Eddie, I’d like you to meet Ruby Burlington.”
Burlington? Shit. Even though neither of us agreed to me taking his name, I’m not about to correct him. Not that either Miles or Eddie notices my flinching. And unlike Claudia, Eddie doesn’t seem at all excited to meet me.
“Does your mother know? Does Lando?”
“Yes, they know. Hendricks was the best man.” Miles nods and lets out a deep sigh. Counting all the staff who know at Foxleigh, his family, and Claudia, Eddie must be the twentieth person Miles has told, yet for the first time, he looks uncomfortable. “Sorry, Eddie. We kept it quiet. We wanted something small and private. You know how it gets around here.”
The delicate patch of skin under Miles’s eye twitches, and his jaw clenches. I’ve seen this happen before when he was repeating our vows. It’s his tell. Stranger still, Miles told the same lie to Claudia, and it rolled off his tongue, embellishing like a pro and throwing his brother under the apple cart simultaneously.
But he’s nervous lying to Eddie.
What’s more, he’s not very good at it.
“What’s the deal with Eddie?”
Miles’s head turns to me. “Eddie? What d’you mean?”
It’s a question I’ve been pondering since we left the pub. After we said goodbye, we headed over to the stables. I thought we’d run through more drills, but instead, Miles suggested we take the ponies on a leisurely hack around the fields to stretch their legs. It’s so calming out here, reminding me of Colorado, just less mountainous.
